São Paulo State

Speaking of São Paulo state without using superlatives is difficult. The southern hemisphere’s largest city! Its finest museums! Its best restaurants! Its worst traffic! (Well, you can’t have everything.) São Paulo city – Sampa to locals – is Brazil's boomtown (commercially, financially, industrially and culturally), and an explosion of sophisticated travelers descending on the city’s numerous arts and epicurean offerings has ensured the sprawling city remains a must-stop for traveling urbanites.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Parque Estadual do Alto do Ribeira

    Parque Estadual do Alto do Ribeira

    São Paulo State

    This 357-sq-km state park, with its 450 cataloged caves, is known as Brazil’s Capital das Grutas (Cave Capital). The park's Núcleos de Visitação (Visitor…

  • Museu de Arte de São Paulo

    Museu de Arte de São Paulo

    São Paulo

    Sampa’s pride, this museum possesses Latin America’s most comprehensive collection of Western art. Hovering above a concrete plaza that turns into an…

  • Edifício Copan

    Edifício Copan

    São Paulo

    Copan was designed by late modernist master Oscar Niemeyer. The building, with its serpentine facade and narrow brises soleil (permanent sunshades), is…

  • Mosteiro São Bento

    Mosteiro São Bento

    São Paulo

    Among the city’s oldest and most important churches, São Bento dates to 1598, though its neo-Gothic facade dates only to the early 20th century. Step…

  • Farol Santander

    Farol Santander

    São Paulo

    For one of Sampa’s best panoramas, head to the top of this 161m-high skyscraper, Brazil’s version of the Empire State Building – completed in 1939 and…

  • Pina_Luz

    Pina_Luz

    São Paulo

    This elegant neoclassical museum, formerly known as Pinacoteca do Estado but modernly rebranded 'Pina_Luz' (with the underline!) in 2017, houses an…

  • Museu Xingu

    Museu Xingu

    São Paulo

    Relatively unknown and blissfully uncrowded, the unassuming Casa Amarela is part NGO handicraft shop, part two-table romantic cafe and part tiny Museu…

  • Mercado Municipal

    Mercado Municipal

    São Paulo

    This covered market is a belle epoque confection of stained glass and a series of vast domes. Inside, a fabulous urban market specializes in all things…

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Plan with a local

Articles

Latest stories from São Paulo State

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Man and woman wearing backpacks, looking at city scape, elevated view from balcony, on vacation

Beaches

A beginner's guide to Brazil

Jan 21, 2016 • 7 min read

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Go Beyond

São Paulo State and beyond

Beyond São Paulo State
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